Silva Off To Hobbs

Roxanne Silva (front row, second from left), the most decorated player in Socorro girls basketball history, announced last week she will attend New Mexico Community College in Hobbs in the fall. Silva owns numerous school records, including points, rebounds and steals. In addition, she holds numerous state records, including points in a game. In February, Silva totaled 57 points against Cobre. Also in a game during her senior season, she scored 52 points. The Lady Warriors finished 20-8 but struggled at the end of the season, losing to Hatch twice and then to St. Michael’s in the first round of the state playoffs at home.

Photo by Tina Garcia

Silva Off To Hobbs

Pygmies End Season With Wins

By Dave Wheelock
Tech Rugby Coach

As New Mexico Tech rugby standouts Britt Catron, Marcus Chavez, and Nick Aldape passed from the Pygmy scene via graduation on May 15, their teammates were overcoming a slow start in the Celtic Sevens Tournament in Albuquerque to conclude their 2009-2010 season on a winning note. Combined with the Rio Grande Celtic Festival and Highland Games, the rugby tournament features seven players competing on a full-size pitch for two seven-minute halves.
The 2010 edition, staged at the International Balloon Fiesta Park, featured competitions in high school girls’ and boys’ divisions as well as women’s and men’s categories.
Hosts New Mexico Brujos took the men’s championship while the University of New Mexico captured the women’s title. Amy Biehl High School won girl’s high school honors and St. Pius won the boys’ division.
The Pygmies looked sluggish in a 9 a.m. pool match against Rio Grande Rugby Union men’s division leaders Albuquerque Aardvarks before bouncing back with wins over Midland-Odessa and the San Juan Silverbacks of Farmington.
Aardvark Dave Auge slipped a tackle on Tech’s opening kickoff and ran deep into Tech territory before being tackled. The Aardvarks had their first five-point try seconds after recovering the ball and passing it wide. The conversion kick (taken by drop kick in seven-man rugby) failed and Albuquerque led 5-0. Two minutes from halftime the Aardvarks bagged another try and converted this one for a 12-0 lead at the two-minute intermission. They went up 19-0 in the second half before Tech captain Royce Beaudry broke free to score a try converted by scrumhalf Dustin Webb that brought matters to 19-7. Aardvark scrumhalf Jon Grey added an insurance try just before full time to disappoint the Pygmies 24-7.
In their second match of the morning Tech applied more attacking pressure against an athletic side from Midland-Odessa. After four minutes Isaiah Sanchez outlegged the defense for a try converted by James Fallt, and Brock Romero scored from a pass by Webb after a break by Beaudry. Webb’s conversion kick brought the halftime score to 14 for NMT with the Flying Pigs still sniffing for the ball.
Beaudry added breathing space for Tech with a try converted by Webb before Midland-Odessa finally got untracked with two tries, the second converted. The Pigs’ effort was too little, too late and Tech advanced to their third and final pool match with a 21–12 victory. Midland-Odessa later supplied consolation to the Pygmies by beating the Aardvarks in their final pool match.
With an aggregate points differential (points scored minus points allowed) of negative eight, the Pygmies needed to run up some points to qualify for semifinal play. The San Juan Silverbacks unintentionally obliged, and though Tech’s final 54-0 victory failed to cover the spread, the Pygmies reveled in the effort. Six players scored five-point tries, with Beaudry and first-year man Zach Speer tallying two apiece. Joining in the feeding frenzy were vice captain Jerod Aragon, James Fallt, Brock Romero, and alumnus Tory Tadano, on loan from his current club New Mexico Brujos.
Head captain Royce Beaudry was selected by vice captains Jerod Aragon and Isaiah Sanchez as Tech’s Player of the Day.

Pygmies End Season With Wins

Flag Football Season Ends With Super Bowl

By Nicky Romero

The 2010 Socorro Flag Football League ended the first season on Friday night, May 14 at Warrior Stadium. If measured by the enthusiasm, competitiveness, and fun that was shown by the kids, it was a huge success.
One hundred and ten boys and girls from ages 8 to 13 played in the league. The league helped to create interest in football and provides lots of physical activity for the kids.
The league was headed up by Coach Louie Laborin and was sponsored by the City of Socorro and the SHS Warrior Football Program. Volunteers help to coach the teams. They included parents, SHS coaches and players, and SHS football alumni.
“Basically, the program gets the kids to understand sportsmanship, have fun, and understand that it is about winning, learning the basics of football, and learning how to be a teammate first,” said Laborin.
“Superbowl I” was played on Friday evening in an almost packed Warrior Stadium that mostly included parents and relatives showing their support for their players.
In the AFC division, there are five teams for ages eight to ten years old kids. The Dolphins, Broncos, Colts, Raiders, and Chargers competed against each other. The Raiders were the eventual first year champions, beating the Dolphins in a hard fought seven overtimes.
In the NFC division, 11 to 13 year old kids play on five separate teams.
They are the Vikings, Eagles, Cowboys, Saints, and the Cardinals. The Cowboys beat the Saints in the championship game.
The league had been playing regular season games for the last month, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Each team played eight regular-season games. The playing field is 60 yards by 30 yards. Time limit on each game is two twenty minute halves. A team has four downs to get to midfield. Then another four downs to score.
The league is looking to expand next year's program. Laborin said, “It was sad because we had to turn some kids away because they heard about it late. So we're expecting a bigger turnout next year; more teams, and maybe even a third division.
“Hopefully, we'll get to the point where we have a league where we will be actually playing tackle football with pads and helmets. We're looking forward for this program to grow, so we're real excited.”
If anyone is interested in helping with the program, contact Norbert Peralta at the Finley Gym. You may also contact Laborin or Coach Damian Ocampo at the high school.

Flag Football Season Ends With Super Bowl

Softball Team Falls To Bloomfield

By Nicky Romero

Bloomfield ended the season for the Socorro Lady Warriors softball team as pitcher Leigh Anne Johnson threw a no-hitter in a 10-0 five-inning victory Friday in the first round of the NM State Championship in Las Cruces.
Bloomfield (25-4) went on to win the 3A softball championship beating Raton 7-3 in nine innings.
The 16th seeded Lady Warriors had their only scoring threat in the first inning.
Maureen Trujillo walked and advanced on Vanessa Jojola's sacrifice bunt. Trujillo advanced to third on a passed ball, but was left stranded by a strikeout and a groundout.
Bloomfield went on to score two runs in the first inning on three Socorro errors. Socorro held them to no runs in the second and third innings. The Bobcats then erupted for five runs in the fourth on five hits and one error. They finished the game by scoring three more runs in the fifth, scoring the last run with bases loaded and a passed ball for the 10-run rule win.
Pitcher Maureen Trujillo allowed ten hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. Trujillo made the North-South All-Star game which will be played in Cobre in July.
The Lady Warriors ended their season with a 10-14 record.

Softball Team Falls To Bloomfield

Tech Grad Ready For Down Under Adventure

By Joaquin Roibal
and Dave Wheelock

In this season of graduations Nick Aldape has double reason to look forward to the future. Gaining his bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from New Mexico Tech is cause for celebration in its own right. And now another challenge awaits: an invitation from one of rugby football's all time legends to try his hand in the mecca of New Zealand.
After transferring to New Mexico Tech from Highlands University in Las Vegas in 2008, Nick admits he had his share of struggles in adjusting to the rigorous coursework. "After getting A’s throughout high school and being on the Dean's List at Highlands I was shocked at getting C’s and even some D’s when I started at Tech." Nick credits the school's academic counseling services and studying with his peers for getting him back on his path to success.

Dark good looks and a reserved bearing might fool a stranger, yet inside Nick Aldape's 6' 3" 205 pound frame beats the passionate heart of an athlete who more than holds his own in the inevitable teasing that comes with being in a team. Born in San Benito, Texas in 1986, Aldape started playing Pop Warner football at the age of eight and later wrestled and ran track at Piedra Vista High in Farmington, New Mexico. He played defensive back at Highlands after receiving both academic and football scholarships.
One of Nick's professors at Highlands also coached the school's sporadic rugby club. Recognizing Nick's potential, Dr. Dick Greene encouraged him to study engineering at New Mexico Tech, where he knew there was also an established rugby club. Aldape made the move and started playing rugby for the Pygmies in 2008. He became a fixture in the school's weight room and by his senior year had added enough rugby running and passing skills to his defensive capabilities to become a major force in the Tech attack.
Enter Graham Mourie, who came off a New Zealand dairy farm in the 1970’s to captain the world-famous All Blacks national team and become a household name in the 100-plus nations where rugby is played. Dick Greene met Graham Mourie during an extended stay in New Zealand in 1986 and the two have been friends ever since. While on a U.S. visit last year Mourie was persuaded to watch a Tech match at a tournament in Albuquerque. Nick made an impression on Mourie, a board member of the New Zealand Rugby Union. "He looked pretty capable physically and for a new player had a good grasp of the game" he recalls in an email. "I would imagine it will take him a while to settle in but that if he stays on next year as well he will learn quickly from the locals."
Whether the engineering profession will wait that long is a matter of conjecture.
In the meantime Mourie has sent Nick his ticket to fly to New Zealand where he meets his new and vastly experienced teammates at the Coastal Rugby Club near New Plymouth. The learning curve will be steep, and as Mourie observes in the typical Kiwi understated way "he'll see a bit more rain than he is used to."
A rare challenge awaits Nick Aldape in a new and far off land, yet he may be just the man for the job. “I always wanted to get into a foreign exchange program in college, but the money and schedule never worked out” says Nick. Regarding his continuing rugby education, he acknowledges "I know I've got a lot to learn. I plan to just go to practice, keep my mouth shut, learn as much as I can, and look for my chance to assert myself. Like my dad always told me, nothing worth having comes easy."

Tech Grad Ready For Down Under Adventure

Good Sam Golf Tournament Scheduled For June 5 At Tech

The Shake Rattle and Roll Charity Golf Tournament to benefit the Good Samaritan Society of Socorro will be held Saturday, June 5 at the New Mexico Tech Golf Course.
The format will be a four-person scramble with a 9 a.m. shot run start. Entry fee is $55 per person or $220 for a foursome.
The price includes a roast beef dinner in the pavilion afterward and an extra guest may be invited to dinner at $20 per person.
Monette Ford will sponsor a hole in one prize, which will be a 2010 Ford Fusion. There will be more hole-in-one prizes at other par 3 holes.
The tournament is open to the first 72 golfers that sign up. Hole sponsors can be bought for $100, There also will be a breakfast sponsor of $500 and a dinner sponsor of $800. For more information, contact Charlotte Monette at 575 835-1190.

Good Sam Golf Tournament Scheduled For June 5 At Tech

Sylvia Enjoys Be Kind To Your Animals Week

Sylvia
By Anne Sullivan

Did you know that this is Be Kind To Your Animals Week?” Sylvia remarked one morning after we’d had breakfast.
“Really?” I said from my comfortable chair. “I don’t remember hearing anything about that.”
“Oh, yes,” said Sylvia. “It’s right here in Sunday’s paper.” With the speed of lightning, she flashed the Albuquerque Journal in front of my face.
“I don’t see it,” I said. “Show me where.”
“Right here.” She pointed to the bottom of the front page before whisking the paper away again.
“I still don’t see it.”
“You still don’t see it? You really ought to get your eyes examined. It’s as plain as the nose on your face.”
“I doubt that.”
Sylvia shook her head. “You need glasses for sure.”
“I just bought a pair at Wal-Mart. They cost $17.”
Sylvia pointed out the obvious. “But what good are they if you don’t wear them.”
“They make me dizzy.”
“They don’t have far to go to do that.”
“It’s going to be difficult to be kind to you if you continue talking like that. Why don’t you lie down and be quiet.”
Sylvia took the hint, waddled to her bed under the TV, turned around the requisite three times and plopped down.
All was quiet and I read the paper undisturbed for all of four minutes before her paw rose and she spoke, “In case you were wondering how to be kind to me, might I take the liberty of offering a few suggestions.”
I glowered at her over my paper.
Undaunted, she rambled on, “First, and perhaps foremost, food is always the way to my heart. A direct route, in fact. Doggy biscuits – you know the kind I like – and pigs’ ears. A combination of the two would be excellent.”
“Hmmn,” I mumbled.
Seeing as a treat wasn’t immediately forthcoming, Sylvia swiftly switched tactics saying, “Be Kind To Your Animals week is the perfect time to develop close bonds with your adorable animal.”
I looked over my paper to say, “I draw the line at sleeping with you, adorable as you might be.”
“That’s a real shame. I’m sorry you’re so short-sighted. Pray, why are you feeling so negative about this form of togetherness?”
“Because you snore and you smell.”
“You snore, too.”
“True, but at least I bathe, something that you’re constituently opposed to.”
“It’s too cold to bathe.”
“It is now. But not in June or July. You nearly killed me trying to get away the last time I soaped you down in the summer. You were more than uncooperative. I would say you burst the bounds of objection.”
Sylvia was silent for a few minutes during which I hoped she wasn’t going to cry. Then she surprised me by jumping out of her bed and coming over to my chair, tail wagging like mad. “That settles it,” she said. “If you want to go for togetherness to show your devotion, it will have to be by treats. I’ll take the biscuits first as an appetizer,” she said, hustling me out of my chair and over to the kitchen.
As I took an Iams biscuit out of the box, I had a funny feeling that I’d been conned.

Sylvia Enjoys Be Kind To Your Animals Week

Honoring Those Who Serve In Armed Forces

Luna News
By Kaye Mindar

If you are reading this, thank a teacher; if you are reading this in English, thank a soldier. (Taken from the official GoArmy.com website).
In honor of Memorial Day coming soon I tried to locate as many of our family members as I could who are serving, recently returned, or are preparing to serve in the armed forces.
Our love and prayers go out to these young men and women and their families. Remember as we enjoy our freedoms, that they are fighting for that right for you.
• Carolyn Long’s niece Jenny Trujillo Stelzer: Army medic in Iraq.
• Jerry and Kay Kinney’s grandson Brandon Kinney: Army Special Forces, Kentucky.
• Tana Muldoon’s son Timothy A. Symonds: Helicopter Pilot, Ft. Rucker, Louisiana.
•Rick Laakman’s son Joe Laakman: Army, currently serving in Afghanistan.
• Raean Harris’ brother SPC Scot Martin: 1404 Transportation Company in the Arizona National Guard; recently returned from Camp Arisjan in Kuwait.
• Dan and Kaye Mindar’s son Joe Mindar: leaving for Ft. Knox, Kentucky, Army Calvary boot camp in June.
If we have missed anyone contact mer for the next column by Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Congratulations

Luna is proud to recognize Kayli Laney as our 2010 graduate from Reserve High School. Kayli has also recently returned from a very successful (and fun) trip to the BPA state finals.

Luna Community Center

Our Community Center has been busy hosting a variety of meetings the past couple of weeks. One very important meeting was to address the Luna Ruins. The U.S. Forest Service archaeologist Jeanne Schofer from Quemado Ranger District presented a slide show of the current conditions of the site and an interest survey was initiated.
Luna Parks and Fire Department are planning a work day on Saturday June 5 to set the playground equipment at the community center. Contact Ann Marie Nicolds for more information.

This year’s Independence Day celebration will be held Saturday July 3 at the community center.

Get Well Wishes

Leann Hulsey Wilkerson had surgery again this past Monday and is hoping to get to Luna as soon as she can and to Rick Laakman who recently returned home from a short hospital stay.
Our love prayers are with them and their families.

Preparedness Corner

Mark your calendars for the second annual Preparedness Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday June 12 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Stake Center across the street from Basha’s in Eagar, Arizona.
There will be over 50 booths with a wealth of information, hands on demos and mini-classes. Also a U. of A. extension office representative will be on hand to test the gauges on pressure cookers for accuracy.
It is never too late to start; Project Noah flyers are still available by sending a legal envelope with double postage to P.O. Box 42 Luna, NM 87824.

Quote of the week

“Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Honoring Those Who Serve In Armed Forces

Quemado: School Auction Saturday

Quemado News
By Debbie Leschner

The Quemado School will hold an auction at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 22 at the school. As part of the auction the girls basketball team will have items for bid to help raise money for basketball camp.
Quemado Schools High school finals will be held on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, May 26, 7th through 12th grades will go to the Socorro Tech pool for a Swim Party and pizza. The elementary grades have Kindergarten graduation at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 25 with the Elementary awards in the afternoon. Tuesday is the elementary grades’ last day of school. On Thursday, May 27, the high school academic awards will be presented in the morning. Thursday is also the high school grades’ last day of school.
At the Quemado Senior Center, there will be quilting and bingo with the group from Datil on Thursday. Lunch menu for the week: Monday – Frito pie, Tuesday – chicken fingers, Wednesday – taco soup, Thursday – pepper steak and Friday – pork ribs. All seniors are welcome. Please call the center at 773-4820 before 9 a.m. to make your lunch reservations. The center will be closed on Monday, May 31. Happy May birthdays to: Bill Candelaria, Eirlene Bowlby, Beverly Fox, George Johnson, Sharon Johnson, Beverly Leude, Franny Parker, Joe S. and Joann Ward.
A Rummage Sale sponsored by the Cowboy Church will be held on Thursday, May 28 and Friday, May 29 in front of the Catron Supply building in Quemado. It will start about 8:30 a.m.
Memorial Day is Monday, May 31 in honor of all our veterans. The Western New Mexico Veterans Group in Quemado will be placing flags on grave sites of Veterans over the weekend.

Quemado: School Auction Saturday

Zimmerman Races To The Professional Ranks

By John Severance

SOCORRO – Graduation will begin a whirlwind weekend for Socorro’s Dillon Zimmerman.
Zimmerman says he will “walk the line” with the rest of his fellow Socorro High graduates Friday night at Warrior Stadium. Then he will catch a flight in Albuquerque to Reno, Nev., at 5 Saturday morning and then travel to Milford, Calif., to compete in Round 5 of the West Coast Nationals WORCS series.
Zimmerman also happens to be a professional ATV racer and he holds a position in the top five in the series.

In 2007, Zimmerman caught the eye of Johnny Leach, the Motoworks/Can Am race team manager, who signed him to his team for 2008 and he has been racing for him ever since. Before racing for Leach, Zimmerman finished second in both Pro-Am and Production A in 2007.
How did Zimmerman start his career as an ATV racer?
He started at the age of 4 while racing a Suzuki 50cc ATV and he gradually progesssed to a 90cc over a two-year span. And when he was 10, he was racing a 2-stroke Honda 250rs and by 12 he was racing a Honda 450 4 stroke.
“I’ve always liked to race for as long as I can remember,” Zimmerman said.
Racing, though, has its perils.
And Zimmerman knows that all too well.
In June of last year, Zimmerman was racing in Phoenix at Speed World.
“I got a bad gate pick and was way on the outside,” Zimmerman said. “The gate dropped and I gunned it out of there trying to get to the front. The track narrows down and we all tried to squeeze in there and I couldn’t do anything. I hit a bump and it threw me into a wall. That’s all I remember. The next day, I woke up in the ICU.”
Zimmerman spent a week in the ICU and another in the regular hospital, fighting for his life. Zimmerman suffered nine broken ribs, a punctured kidney, a collapsed lung and a broken shoulder. After being released from the hospital, Zimmerman spent two weeks rebuilding his lungs and letting his injuries heal.
About two months later, Zimmerman climbed back aboard the ATV.

“At first I was scared because I didn’t want to happen again,” Zimmerman said. “But I kept practicing and I put it behind me. I know my parents (Ty and Melissa) were scared, too. My mom didn’t want me to race anymore and my dad was scared but he knew I was going to get back on.”
Melissa Zimmerman said, “Life’s not worth a trophy and that is what I told him. But I support my kids no matter what they do.”
Zimmerman ended up back in the driver’s seat, winning his next race in Washington state.
“I learned a lot from that,” Zimmerman said. “I have been in that same position again and this time I just back off. I’m a little smarter about things.”
Zimmerman plans to pursue his racing career for the time being.
“But I also know I have a lot of opportunities if I don’t race anymore,” Zimmerman said.
For now, Zimmerman will come back to Socorro after racing this weekend, attend a graduation party next weekend and then move out to California.

Zimmerman Races To The Professional Ranks